Article November 19, 1984 Issue

Keep your thinking above the clouds

WILLIAM WALTON SAUNDERS

You have probably had the experience of boarding an airplane on a murky day. Soon after takeoff you were flying along in bright sunshine above the clouds. This points to the truth that we can all lift our thinking above the clouds of discouragement and cynicism and keep it there. In fact, we can be at peace during any testing time. Christian Science teaches that the basis of our well-being is our relationship to God, our Father-Mother. In our true being, we're God's spiritual offspring, lovingly cared for by Him. Man, the child of God, is always at peace because he is governed by God, who is omnipresent Spirit and the only Mind.

An experience of mine taught me to lean on God during times of trial. Early one morning I woke to find that my apartment had been flooded. A water pipe in the wall had broken. For the next twelve weeks the apartment was topsy-turvy. Books were pulled out of bookcases; wiring was disconnected. Among other problems, the parquet flooring had buckled and had to be replaced. But here's the point: at no time during that period was my thinking dragged down into despair or discouragement. I kept uppermost in thought this statement from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy: "Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy."^{Science and Health, p. 249.}

I set aside extra time for prayer and for study of the Bible Lessons in the Christian Science Quarterly. Just as each lesson has its "Golden Text" from the Bible, which sets its theme, the statement by Mrs. Eddy quoted above was my "Golden Text" during the topsy-turvy period. You'll note that here Mrs. Eddy both affirms spiritual truth and denies the assertions of mortal mind, or error. Likewise, in my prayers I affirmed that God was inspiring and leading me into "newness of life." And I rebuked as deceptions any claims of error that it had power to upset or destroy.

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